Greg Weaver

July 1997

Part II - Clean Connections And Signal Transfer

Well, you've had your dream system now for about
a year and are thinking that, because it just doesn't sound as
good as it used to, it's time for you to upgrade. Maybe a new
source component like an outboard converter would jazz up the
sound and get you back to where the old system used to take you
on a regular basis. Maybe. Or maybe you just need to spend a
little attention on the system you used to love.

When was the last time you unplugged any of the connections in
the system? Was it when you brought home all the components and
first assembled the system? If so, it is way overdue for some
cleaning. Left to themselves, the connections in your system
decay. Over time dirt, dust, pollutants and oxidation take their
toll at the Achilles heel of your system - its non soldered
connections. Dirt and dust build up and oxidation occurs at the
junction of all your system's connections - at the phono
cartridge, RCA jacks, speaker terminals and even power cords.
These "bottlenecks" in the system, the points of
interfacing the non-permanent connections, simply compound the
issue when they are left alone to degrade. Think I'm kidding? Go
pull off your RCA's to your CD player. See that discoloration?
That's dirt and oxidation. What do you do about it?

For the last ten years or so I have used something called
De-Ox-Id Contact Cleaner for surface preparation and then
something you long-timers knew called Tweek as a surface
enhancement. De-Ox-Id Contact Cleaner, manufactured in Rockford,
Illinois by GC Electronics, is typically used by electronics
technicians to clean and lubricate electronic controls, volume
pots and switches like those used in TV's and audio
receivers.Tweek, which came packaged in a manner strongly
resembling a bottle of nail polish, was distributed by Sumiko
(the guys with the greatest budget phono cartridge in the
universe, the Blue Point) and has been a favorite of mine for all
this time. As it is no longer available (Tweek has been
discontinued for over 5 years now), I phoned the helpful gang at
Audio Advisor (www.audioadvisor.com)
to find out what was currently available to combat this
corruption. Three days later, a package arrived on my doorstep
full of goodies (thanks again Ron)!

They kindly sent me a 1/3 fluid ounce bottle of Torumat's
TC-2, a 7.5 ml bottle of CAIG's ProGold (www.caig.com) and a small 15 gram
aerosol spray can of CAIG's DeoxIT (it would seem that this
aerosol dispenser is no longer available as it does not appear in
the current catalog). DeoxIT is currently offered in 1.) a 25 ml
nozzle applicator bottle, 2.) a package of 50 pre-treated wipes
and 3.) an economy size 59 ml bottle. The new packaging indicates
a concerted effort to be more environmentally friendly. All three
products list for just $16.95 and all are said to be both
cleaners and contact enhancers for electrical connections.
I used the Denon receiver in my office system (which has been
untouched for two years) to gauge the sonic significance of the
cleaning portion of the testing and my reference system to gauge
the sonic differences exhibited by the two contact enhancers. One
channel of each of three different inputs on the Denon was
treated, one with DeoxIT, one with ProGold and one with TC-2
while the other channel of each input was left untreated and used
as the control.

The DeoxIT
package, with its 10 cm long, 2 mm wide directional application
tube, is very similar to what most of you may be used to seeing
with the dust removing "canned air" products or WD-40.
Reading the label was a bit of a challenge for a forty one year
old who has worn glasses since age nine. But with the help of my
AGFA 8X lupe, intended for viewing negatives and slides, I was
able to read the directions and the major ingredient, petroleum
naphtha. Oddly enough, this is the same ingredient listed on the
can of De-Ox-Id Contact Cleaner which I had been using up to now.
Looking at the $3.99 price tag on the five ounce can (141 grams)
of De-Ox-Id Contact Cleaner I had been using for years made me
very curious, as it offered a tad more than nine times as much
cleaner as is in the DeoxIT 15 gram can which sells for $16.95.
So I sprayed a blast from the De-Ox-Id Contact Cleaner 5 ounce
can onto a paper towel and a blast from the DeoxIT 15 gram can on
to another. They both had the same oily wet look and they
smelled, to this admittedly untrained nose, virtually identical
with the DeoxIT being a bit more reddish in color. Surprise
audiophobes, you get to pay more for the same stuff!

They both work like magic! Spray some onto a cotton ball find
the dirtiest set of female RCA inputs (those of you running
balanced connections will be dealing with XLR type connectors) on
the back of your pre-amp/receiver. Wipe this moistened cotton
ball on and around the connection and watch it clean up bright
and shinny as new with no real effort - and no abrasion to wear
away the precious metal of the connection. Look at the cotton
ball. See all that gray or brown residue? That was the dirt and
oxidation on your connection. Now do the same to the male RCA
ends of your patch cord using another moistened cotton ball and
tooth picks or something similar to push the cotton ball against
the inside surfaces of the shield connection and the signal pin.

Now if it isn't readily apparent why this is good, follow
this. The contact surfaces of the connections, although they look
quite smooth to the eye, are actually very rough at the
microscopic molecular level. Those surfaces are actually pitted
and full of "hills and valleys" so to speak, so
electrical conduction can only take place where the molecules of
the two surfaces actually touch. Even though the male RCA jack
fits snugly into the female RCA receptacle, due to the
irregularities of these surfaces, something on the order of about
20 percent of the surfaces are actually contacting each other.
Now, factor in oxidation and pollutants over time and it may drop
as low as 5 percent or less, with the other 95 percent offering a
high degree of constrictive resistance to the relatively low
current passing through these narrow points of contact. This
resistance greatly diminishes the transfer of dynamics and low
level information through these interface points. Hooking up the
freshly cleaned (and as yet otherwise untreated) cable and to the
freshly cleaned jack yielded a significant difference. More
clarity, more dynamics and more extension to the upper registers
than the untreated side, in mono and stereo!

After you've cleaned both ends of the connection, if there
were only some way to increase their contact surface, it would
greatly enhance our current flow and further reduce the bottle
neck effect. This is where TC-2 and ProGold come in. Although
both claim to clean the pollutants and oxides from dirty old
connections, neither, in my opinion, is as effective at this task
as the DeoxIT. I tried both of these enhancers as cleaners and to
their credit, they both were fairly effective at removing
the built up crud on both sets of inputs. However, going back
over these freshly cleaned surfaces with the DeoxIT, after having
listening to each of them independently during the first part of
the testing, revealed a further soiled cotton ball. And this
wasn't just the residual treatment chemistry, it was more
brown/black debris.

The real contribution of these surface treatments comes in
that they both are solutions which have been formulated to
chemically and physically enhance the electrical field between
connections. As they are semi-viscous liquids which conduct
current, applying them to the microscopically pitted surfaces
allows for a greater degree of contact, thereby permitting
significantly less resistance to current flow at these
critical phono cartridge, patch cord, speaker wire and even AC
power cord connections, yielding greatly improved signal
transfer.

The ProGold bottle, again labeled and packed with an
instruction sheet with absolutely tiny lettering, comes fitted
with a small applicator brush attached to its cap, again much in
the fashion of a fingernail polish bottle. The liquid is a rich
amber/gold color, leading me to believe this had much to do with
the development of its name. The instructions say to apply a
small amount of ProGold, then to wipe away the excess with a
lint-free applicator, claiming that optimum results are achieved
with only a small amount left on the treated surfaces. This is
quite easy to achieve. After brushing some ProGold on with the
connections with the attached brush, a quick wipe around each
connection with a trusty cotton ball removed any excess. Just for
good measure I then connect, disconnect, reconnect and finally
slightly rotate each connection to insure even application of the
fluid under examination. Hooking the CD player to this freshly
treated connection was a true pleasure. Wow! What a difference
between channels.

TC-2 was applied to the second
half of another input and a second identical patch cord (I've got
loads, need any?). The TC-2 is a light amber in color and, rather
than providing a tiny applicator brush, comes in a bottle with a
tiny nozzle similar to super glue tubes, though not quite as
long. With a couple of drops on a cotton ball, I was off. Unlike
the ProGold, Torumat suggests you do not wipe off the
excess TC-2. Once again I used my on, off, back on and rotate
ritual as they were plugged in. Similar wow!

Finally to the speaker connections and the AC plugs. I was
honestly quite shocked to note how badly corrupted both the AC
plugs and the speaker spades and terminals had become. I had a
feeling that the higher current passing through these interfaces
would have a pretty notable effect on the sound. So, a cleanen'
and a treaten' I went, first with the DeoxIT and then with the
two surface enhancers, one on the right channel speaker
connections and one on the left. Was I ever right. Major wow! The
system was shining through once again.

What do I mean by Wow? There was a broad band increase in
definition, top to bottom. The upper mid-range and higher
frequencies smoothed out and became more extended. At the same
volume settings the system sounded louder, likely due to
increased dynamic capabilities of the connections. Low level
detail was better resolved as was imaging and ambience. Overall
there was a better degree of clarity to instruments and voices.
Try it for yourself!

The DeoxIT is far and away a better cleaner than either of the
two contact enhancers tested here, but both do provide a good
degree of cleaning (as does anhydrous alcohol). I suggest you use
this stuff before applying any enhancer as you will obviously
want to start with the cleanest connection possible. At $16.95,
the degree of sonic improvement more than justifies the price of
admission. WAY RECOMMENDED! You may choose to seek out the
cheaper, larger De-Ox-Id Contact Cleaner from an electronics
supply store or a repair shop, as just one can this size will
probably last you forever.

As for the two surface enhancements, Torumat's TC-2 and CAIG's
ProGold, both work extremely effectively. I cannot pronounce a
clear winner! They both afforded wonderful results and were
indistinguishable from each other in my TC-2 left speaker/ProGold
right speaker application in my reference system, in both mono
and stereo playback. I will see which holds up better with time
and update you as I have more data. The only item which may tip
the scale in either direction is that ProGold comes with its own
applicator brush making it a bit more easy to apply than just
using a cotton ball. However, the instruction sheet for both the
CAIG Labs chemicals are provided in such fine print that you had
best be armed with some sort of magnifier to read them! Other
than that, it is too close to call. Both of these products are
also WAY RECOMMENDED!

Cleanliness is next to godliness so the saying goes. Well, I
don't know about that, but it is certainly more musical! Even if
you are unwilling to spend the extra money for these materials,
just disconnecting, reconnecting and rotating the cables in their
sockets will improve the sonics, but the degree of improvement is
small by comparison. I recommend that you go through this little
ritual every three months, thereby assuring you get all the sound
you paid for. Till next time, enjoy!